Talk of remote work does naturally come with the discussion of pay. Insider reports how the current market conditions of possible recession and layoffs in tech allow some tech executives to reset worker pay. Data from Levels.FYI, a platform that collects data on tech compensation shows that for 2022 median pay for a software engineer fell by almost 9% between the first and second half of the year. Pay for a hardware engineer is down 7%. For software-engineering managers, it’s down by 10%. For product designers, it’s down 13%
That said, it seems security isn’t as impacted. The total number of employed cybersecurity workers in 2022 remained relatively unchanged from previous estimates at around 1.1 million, according to new data from the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, trade group CompTIA and data firm Lightcast. Public-sector cybersecurity demand grew by 25%, and private-sector demand grew by roughly 21%.
Gartner has predictions about the labor market. They believe it will remain competitive and outline some specific guidance. They’re expecting more “quiet hiring,” which is reskilling and upskilling current employees, and expect HR leaders will build more connections within the organization –specifically rather than requiring them in the office. They predict less focus on prior experience and formal training and offer increased flexibility.
Why do we care?
The pay levels from 2022 may have been over-inflated. I’m not sure I will panic over a roughly 10% adjustment, and with cybersecurity in high demand, those with specialized skills will be in demand. There may be some pressure on providers on rates from customers, but I wouldn’t worry too much.
What I would consider is the trend of investing in people. That’s continuing to be a theme, and for employers, I’d be thinking less about being able to pay staff a little less and more about the investment required to keep them and grow them.